Traveler’s Interests and Stats for Travelers and Vacationers Searching for Vacation Rentals, Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts in the Panhandle Area, Florida

Miami, Florida. January 23, 2010 – In an effort to better understand the interests, demands and consumer habits of travelers, Rentalo.com, the leading online vacation rental directory, performed a recent market study on its database of 12,015 opted-in travelers who visited the Panhandle area from July of 2008 until January of 2010. Below, the lodging website shares its findings on the directory’s top panhandle destinations: Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City Beach in Florida, and Gulf Shores, AL.

Travel experts, editors, and media publications interested in similar data pertaining to other vacation destinations, or additional consumer data stats such as budget, amenities, length of stays, peak seasons, and inventory data should contact Rentalo directly.

Panhandle Destination: Destin, FL
The study data reveals high interest in comparison shopping with 57.08% of the travelers interested Destin vacation rentals, were also interested in comparing offers from hotels and bed and breakfasts. 67% were interested in receiving offers from nearby destinations including Seminole, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Niceville, Dune Allen Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, and Seaside.
39.46% of the vacation planners start planning their vacations within 30 days prior to arrival. 38.32% plan their vacations 3 or more months in advance, and 19.79% plan their vacation 1-2 months in advance.
According to this study, Destin can be considered a family vacation destination since 49.78% of the inquiries were from families with children. 21.69% from couples looking for romantic getaways, 4.31% are from people traveling alone, and 24.20% are from people planning family reunions and larger groups with 4 or more adults and children.

Panhandle Destination: Fort Walton Beach, FL
51.49% of the travelers inquiring for Fort Walton Beach vacation rentals, also showed interest in comparison shopping among other lodging types such as hotels and bed and breakfasts. 13.97% included Okaloosa Island, Destin, Niceville, Seminole and Navarre in their search when looking for accommodations in nearby destinations.
Most of Fort Walton Beach travelers are early planners with 47.76% of the inquiries received 3 months in advance of the travel date. 17.85% of the inquiries were received 1-2 months in advance while 29.80% were received only one month prior to the arrival date.
Study reveals that Fort Walton Beach is mostly a family vacation destination since 53.19% of the inquiries included children. 27.6% were for couples and 2.42% came from solo travelers. Big groups larger than 4 people accounted for 35.85% of the inquiries.

Panhandle Destination: Panama City Beach, FL
Study reveals that 56.42% of the trip planners that requested Panama City vacation rentals, were also open to stay in a bed and breakfast or a hotel. 68.73% also wanted to receive offers from nearby destinations like Panama City and Inlet Beach.
In Panama City Beach, most travelers look for family accommodations as 45.98% of the inquiries requested lodgings with children. Romantic getaways for parties of two accounted for 16.58% of the inquiries, while business or solo travelers only accounted for just 4.73% of the inquiries.
38.06% of the inquiries were sent 3 months or more prior to the travel date, 20.09% were sent 1 to 2 months prior to the travel date, and 38.60% were last minutes inquiries sent only one month prior to the travel date.

Panhandle Destination: Gulf Shores, Alabama
(Just within a few minutes from the Florida state line is Alabama’s top beach destination; Gulf Shores)
50.34% of the travelers who inquired for Gulf Shores vacation rentals, also showed interest in comparison shopping by accepting to receive offers from bed and breakfasts and hotels. 64.55% were also interested in receiving offers from nearby destinations including Orange Beach, Foley, Elberta, Perdido Key.
36.07 % plan their vacation 3 or more months in advance. 21.96% plan their vacation 1-2 months in advance, and 39.90% plan their vacation within 30 days prior to arrival (last minute).
52.24% are from families planning family vacations with children, 20.95% are from couples looking for romantic getaways, 1.77% is from people traveling alone, and 25.35% are from people planning family reunions and larger groups with 4 or more adults and children.
“As a leader in the travel lodging and vacation rental industry, Rentalo believes in sharing consumer intelligence data in order to support and contribute to the travel industry,” says Gabriel Amorocho, Marketing Manager at Rentalo.com. “Publishing our findings on the Panhandle area’s consumer trends only demonstrates www.Rentalo.com’s desire to contribute to the travel lodging and vacation rental industry and its participants.”

About Rentalo.comRentalo.com is recognized as a leading global travel lodging and vacation rental web site. Its broad inventory of vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, and hotels is accessible through search engines, RSS feeds, affiliate online distribution partners, as well as thousands of journalists and editors through e-mail, press releases and travel publications. Through selected partnerships, Rentalo's inventory is available to an online audience of more than 100 million travelers in 15,000 destinations worldwide. For more information, go to http://rentalo.com or call (877) 710-5914, 1(305) 558-5577.